Locations
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Catalyzing a greener future
A Shift for People and Planet
Environmental breakdown is no longer a distant threat—it’s a daily reality. Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing it head-on: from toxic air pollution and worsening floods to fires and degraded ecosystems. With 67% of its electricity still generated from coal and over 3,300 premature deaths annually linked to air pollution, the urgency is clear.
Yet, a window of opportunity is opening. As an EU candidate committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Bosnia and Herzegovina is well-positioned to lead a just, sustainable transition. The Green Transition Portfolio—led by UNDP and national partners—offers a systems-level roadmap to build a low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient economy. It focuses on addressing root causes and interlinkages across sectors to enable long-term, structural change.
Past environmental efforts were fragmented—isolated projects with narrow scopes, implemented under separate mandates and without meaningful coordination. The result: overlap, slow reform, and policy gaps disconnected from local realities.
The Green Transition Portfolio replaces this with a unified governance model that brings together ministries, municipalities, the private sector, and civil society around a shared transformation agenda. Led by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, this approach shifts from short-term projects to integrated, long-term strategies.
It strengthens institutional capacity to anticipate risks, coordinate across sectors, and adapt to change. The portfolio also supports green financing instruments, aligns national policy with EU climate regulations, and creates shared learning platforms to ensure reforms are both technically robust and socially responsive.
This is not just about managing change—but about enabling leadership from within.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s coal-based, extractive economy remains among Europe’s highest per-capita emitters. This outdated model contributes to environmental degradation and leaves the country vulnerable to economic shocks.
The Green Transition Portfolio is accelerating the shift toward clean, circular, and inclusive economic models. It enables both public and private actors to adopt green practices and build resilience.
One example: Union Banka, in partnership with UNDP and funded by Sweden through the Green Economic Development (GED) project, launched a tailored credit line for SMEs to improve energy efficiency and adopt renewable energy. The initiative uses grant subsidies to offer interest-free loans—pioneering green finance in the country. For every USD 1 of public subsidy, around USD 15 in private investment has been leveraged, showing how modest public funds can unlock significant private capital for sustainable development.
This model reduces financial barriers—especially for SMEs—and supports innovation, lowers energy costs, and speeds up the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Similar efforts in e-mobility, sustainable transport, and renewable energy are laying the foundation for a climate-smart economy. As Bosnia and Herzegovina prepares for the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the portfolio is helping industries align with carbon pricing regulations—protecting jobs while expanding access to EU markets.
This is not just about decarbonization; it’s about economic renewal with social and environmental returns.
For years, environmental laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina existed mainly on paper. Public trust was low, and policymaking often failed to reflect people’s daily realities.
The Green Transition Portfolio is changing that by placing participation, inclusion, and accountability at the center of the transition. Stakeholder platforms, gender-responsive policies, and digital tools for public engagement ensure that communities are not just heard—they are actively shaping the future.
With support from UNDP, UN Women, ILO, UNODC, UNECE, FAO, and multiple levels of government, Bosnia and Herzegovina is building a governance model that is transparent, participatory, and future-ready.
A shared opportunity
Bosnia and Herzegovina now has the vision, the partners, and the roadmap to lead a green transition. But ambition alone isn’t enough—lasting change requires sustained commitment.
Investing in green jobs, scaling climate-resilient infrastructure, strengthening inclusive governance, and building local institutional capacity can accelerate this transformation.
The Green Transition Portfolio is more than a policy tool. It’s a coordinated effort to deliver systemic change—for people, for the economy, and for the planet.